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 Though conditions were relatively easy on Greenbrier's rain-softened
Old White Course, the round was a welcome reprieve for Woods, whose
shocking slump over the past year raised questions of whether he
ever again would be competitive.
Two weeks before the British Open at St. Andrews, where he has won
twice, the 39-year-old former world number one declared he was "very
close" to hitting top form.
"People think I'm crazy when I say I'm close but I felt like I was
close," Woods told PGATour.com after a round that included seven
birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey in White Sulphur Springs, West
Virginia.
"This past week was a good week (of practice) and today I hit the
ball well all day until a couple of tee shots at the end, tugged a
couple."
Woods described as "stupid" his double-bogey at the par-four sixth,
his 15th hole, where he left his approach in the bunker, but he
roared back like his old self to finish with three consecutive
birdies.
"I was hitting the ball too well to end up one-under," said Woods,
who went on to card his best score since a five-under 65 in the
third round of last year's Honda Classic.
It might be dangerous to read too much into one good round, as it
has been less than four weeks since Woods shot the worst score of
his career, an 85 at the Memorial tournament in Ohio, and then
missed the cut at the U.S. Open.
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But he sounded positively giddy as he spoke to the media on
Thursday, saying that the "overall pattern shift" that he started
working on at the Memorial was starting to bear fruit.
"I just had to make a couple of tweaks and I felt like I pulled that
off," he said after hitting 10 of 14 fairways and needing only 25
putts. "It's finally starting to click in now."
While Woods understandably grabbed the limelight, American Scott
Langley compiled eight-under 62 for a one-stroke lead over
compatriot Jonathan Byrd and New Zealand's Danny Lee.
On a day when 95 players broke par, defending champion Angel Cabrera
struggled to a one-over 71.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Frank
Pingue)
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